In early prior art, a writing instrument was attached to a surface such as a shirt pocket by means of a bendable clip. In use, the clip was bent outward to receive the surface. Although this type of clip was initially secure, the constant bending and deforming of the clip eventually caused it to weaken and wear out long before the writing instrument.
More recent prior art discloses a writing instrument clip as shown in FIG. 1, having a clip pivotally mounted on a spring housed within the writing instrument. However, this clip has disadvantages in that, among other things, the cap top can be unscrewed and the parts can fall out and get lost. Further, the clip is held tight to the cap and in use does not allow thicker materials to slide to the top of the clip without opening the clip.